Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Crater Lake, OR. 10/8 & 9/12

Entering Crater Lake National Park: Pumice Desert. The result of Mount Mazama erupting more than 7,700 years ago. Few trees have been able to grow because of the soil lacks nutrients.

Pumice: Airy and lightweight.

Ah, the beauty of Crater Lake. After the volcano the mountain collapsed. It took about 800 years for the snow and rain to fill the caldera. There are no streams going into the Lake, water comes mainly from snow. Very little rain here.

The Lake is so clear it is a mirror.

A patch of snow from last winter. Average snowfall is 44 feet!!!!

Wizard Island.

We enjoyed a Ranger talk on the Top 10 things he likes about Crater Lake. It is very interesting and informative.

Hiked the Lady in the Woods Trail.

Buildings were designed to blend in with nature,

Stone sculpture created in 1917.

Airy pumice stone we found on our hike.

We stayed at Mazama Village Campground. Met a guy who had just hiked in to the Park. He's hiked 300 miles on his journey. Also met a couple camping near us. They have been at Crater Lake for over a week. They don't have a tent but a open air gazebo. They use 7 layers to sleep under. It gets down to 28 in the early morning.

On the road again Tuesday Oct. 9 before 8 am.

Hoping to get some great photos of the Lake before the sun is high.

Pumice on the side of the Lake.

Pumice Castle. You can see the effect of the wind on the one sided tree.

Photo with panorama camera. On Sunday after Ted's marathon Phil bought a new phone. His old phone kinda died the end of June. (it worked on rare occasions.) He can get great panorama photos with his phone.

So excited to spot the Phantom Ship.

An island that is not always visible, depending on the shadows or if cloudy.

So interesting to see green trees, growth on the bark.

Pinnacles.

Formations after the volcano eruption.

You can see how rocks were trapped.

Passing through the magnificent forests and rivers in Oregon.

We come to a stop sign and see a Spinning Dust Ball. It was amazing, I think the first one I saw.